


Pipes and Bulbs

by Stilinskis (MollyHime)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, SO MUCH FLUFF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-18
Updated: 2014-09-18
Packaged: 2018-02-17 21:08:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2323268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MollyHime/pseuds/Stilinskis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Melissa’s mentally named her plan “Get Derek Hale to socialize with adults”. She can see how much he needs it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pipes and Bulbs

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for Razz, aka knot-all-men@tumblr! I was really super intimidated to write this because Razz is really really cool, so I hope this lives up to expectations! I had a lot of fun writing this!

By the time Derek shows up at the hospital, Melissa has already had the night from hell. So when she gets back to the nurses’ station, expecting to see her son holding dinner, and sees Derek instead, she's understandably concerned. "Derek? What are you doing here? Where's Scott? What's going on? Is everything okay?" So she may be overreacting a bit, but when your son is a 16 year old alpha werewolf, it's understandable.

Derek raises his hands in surrender. "Everything is fine. Scott went over to Lydia's to study. They've got a physics test tomorrow and he's worried about it. I offered to bring your dinner.” Melissa sighs in relief, and slumps into her chair.

"Well thank you," she finally takes a breath and offers Derek a smile. At that moment, her phone chimes and she picks it up, she’s got a text from Scott. It’s a little late but she appreciates it nonetheless.

Studying at Lydia's Derek bringing your dinner.  
Love You!  
Oh yeah I looked at the pipe in the bathroom but I have no idea :(

Melissa sighs loudly, pinching the bridge of her nose. She's going to have to call the plumber and probably pick up some extra shifts to pay for it. "Is something wrong, Mrs. McCall?" Derek questions, still holding her food. He’s not entirely sure he shouldn’t just set it down and leave her alone. She’s obviously stressed.

"No, no it's nothing. We've just got a busted pipe in the bathroom and I've got to call a plumber before it breaks completely." She laughs, and rubs a hand across her face, before standing up to take the container from Derek. “And please, call me Melissa!”

"You know, I could fix it," Derek offers.

"You know how to fix pipes?" Melissa asks, eyebrows raising.

"I had to fix them a lot when I lived in the loft" he shrugs, uneasily shifting his balance. Melissa doesn’t push, she’s been filled in on the loft.

"I couldn't ask you to do that, you've got things to do."

"I really don't mind," Derek insists. "I don't do much during the days. Honestly it’ll be nice to have something to keep me busy. How about I stop by tomorrow afternoon once you've had a chance to sleep. It won't take long I promise."

Melissa finds herself rather dazzled by his smile. She studies him for a moment. "You're certain it's not putting you out?" she asks, questioning.  
"It's really no problem. Call me tomorrow whenever and I'll come over.” He scribbles his number on the top of the take out container and they share a quick smile before Derek bids her goodnight. If Melissa feels a little flustered after it she doesn't examine it too closely. She pulls out her phone and enters Derek’s number into her contacts before sending Scott a text.

Don't worry about it someone’s coming to fix it tomorrow. Study hard.

She eats quickly, and when a code gets called, she rushes back to work, her earlier conversation with Derek shoved to the back of her mind.

\--  
She gets home around eight the next morning, and by the time she finishes picking up around the house and falls into bed, it’s nearly ten. She doesn’t wake up until almost four, and the house is blissfully quiet. Scott is still at practice which gives her at least another hour of peace before two teenage boys wreck her clean house. She gives herself ten minutes of just lounging and enjoying the warmth of her bed before deciding a shower is probably the best course of action. She remembers the busted pipe a moment later and sighs loudly. She’s reaching for her phone to call a plumber when her conversation with Derek the night before comes back to her, and she hesitates. She doesn’t want to bug him, isn’t sure he really meant it. But, she really can’t afford to pay someone to fix it.

She chews her lip her lips, hesitates, and then presses the call button. He picks up after three rings, breathing heavy and Melissa finds herself wondering what’s got him exerting himself. 

“Hello?” his voices startles her but she recovers easily.

“Derek hi, it’s Melissa!”

“Oh hi, are you ready for me to come over?”

Melissa hesitates again. “Are you sure it’s not an inconvenience for you?” she questions.

Derek laughs. “Absolutely not. I can be over in about fifteen minutes, is that okay?”

“Perfect. Thank you so much.”

Hanging up, Melissa finally drags herself out of bed. She pulls her hair back into a neat ponytail and tugs on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Heading down the kitchen she turns the coffee pot and leans against the counter with a heavy sigh. She’s still tired. She’s been picking up extra shifts whenever they’ll let her, and she’s thankful that she won’t have to pay for a professional for this at least. She zones out and the knock on the door brings her back several minutes later.  
Derek stands on the porch, a box of tools in one hand and a pleasant smile on his face. She steps back and lets him in. “I made coffee, but if you’d rather have tea I can boil water,” she tells him as he follows her through the house, though she knows he knows his way around.  
“Coffee is fine,” he tells her and sets his tools by the kitchen door. They share a cup of coffee in relative silence. She watches him. She doubts he notices the difference in the way he acts around her and the way he acts around the teenagers. It’s nice to see him like this. He seems softer somehow, like he doesn’t carry every burden in the world on his shoulders. He isn’t constantly on the lookout for potential threats. She knows he cares a lot about Scott and the rest of the pack, but personally she thinks some actual adult company would be good for him.  
When he heads upstairs, she follows and stands in the doorway, watching him work. He clearly knows what he’s doing and she’s beyond thankful for that. She takes a moment, but just a small one, to admire him. He’s dressed in a black tank top and she can see the muscles in his arms flex as he works. His jeans hug him well and she stops herself. It’s really not appropriate for her to look at her sons’ friends like this. Even if that friend is nearly ten years older and a proper adult.  
The front door opens and Scott and Stiles tromp through, laughing about something, and it makes Melissa smile as she turns to watch them. They so rarely have reasons to smile lately, it’s nice to see them happy. But then Scott freezes with a weird look on his face. “Mom?” he calls. “Why is Derek here?”  
Melissa steps closer to landing so Scott can see her. She’s not sure she’ll ever fully adjust to knowing that he can tell who’s in the house just by scent. “He’s fixing the pipe in the bathroom, why is something wrong?” She doesn’t like how tense Scott’s gotten, like something bad is about to happen. But then again, when Scott and Derek are together, something bad usually is happening.  
“I thought you said someone was coming to fix it?” he continues, still tense.  
“Is Derek not someone?” she asks, genuinely confused with the way he’s acting. At least Stiles is staring at Scott in confusion as well.  
Scott just shakes his head some and seems to relax some. He tromps up the stairs, Stiles on his heels. He and Derek share a look as he passes the bathroom, one that seems to say they’re not finished with whatever this is. Scott and Stiles disappear into the room, the door kicked shut behind them. Melissa considers telling them to leave it open, but she figures they’ve been doing what they’ve been doing for years now, no sense bothering them now.  
It takes Derek awhile longer, and when she offers him another cup of coffee he glances guiltily at Scott’s door and politely refuses. She walks him to the door and thanks him profusely. He smiles at her again. “Any time you need help with anything, feel free to call me.” He turns to leave, and stops. “Goodbye Scott,” he says at a normal speaking volume, and Melissa raises an eyebrow at him. He just shrugs with a sheepish grin and heads out the door. He knows Scott’s listening, and has been since the moment his door shuts. Melissa shuts the door behind Derek and then heads up the stairs, knocking on Scott’s door, before opening it.  
Scott sits on his bed, looking the picture of innocence as he leans over a textbook. Stiles sits in the desk chair, feet propped up on the desk as he tosses a lacrosse ball up into the air before catching it again. Scott waits a few moments before he looks up. 

“Wanna tell me what that was about?” she asks, leaning against the door frame. 

Scott shrugs. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Melissa sighs. “Do you have a problem with Derek coming over?” she tries.

“It’s not that Mom.” Scott chews on his lip, and Melissa waits. “It’s really nothing, don’t worry about it, okay?”  
Melissa pinches the bridge of her nose. “Alright. I’m going to go start dinner. Are you sticking around Stiles?”  
Stiles grins at her. “Absolutely!”

While she cooks the image of Derek relaxed and smiling as they talk comes to her mind, and a plan starts to formulate.

\--  
It takes a few weeks before Melissa can really put her plan into action. She gets swamped at work and whenever she’s home it’s all she can do to eat something and take a shower before falling asleep. She’s mentally named her plan “Get Derek Hale to socialize with adults”. She feels rather like a scheming teenager but she can see how much he needs it. 

Her next chance comes a few days later. She’s heading up to attic to find something, but when she flips the switch, nothing happens. She sighs loudly. The only light in the attic is strung from the highest point in the ceiling and is out of her reach even when she stands on the top of a ladder. She should just get Scott to do it when he gets home from school, but she realizes it gives her the perfect opportunity to ask Derek over.

Heading back downstairs, she pulls her cellphone out of her purse and dials Derek’s number and waits. It goes to voicemail eventually and she frowns a little but leaves a message. “Hi Derek, it’s Melissa McCall. My attic light is busted and I need a little help. Please don’t feel obligated but if you have free time and you feel like it I’d really appreciate it!” She hangs up and sets her phone on the counter, and decides she’ll tackle the kitchen. If she feels a little disappointed about not being able to reach Derek, she doesn’t dwell on it.

Nearly half an hour, there’s a knock on the door. She stands up and wipes her dusty hands on her pants. She’s not expecting anyone and it’s only two in the afternoon, so there’s no way it can be any of Scott’s friends, not that many of them bother knocking often. Except Kira, she likes Kira. She warily approaches the door. She finds a moment to think it’s a little ridiculous how suspicious she’s become since finding out about the supernatural. It’s probably just a deliveryman at the door. She peers out the peep hole and then pulls the door open. “Derek, hi!” she says, a little shocked, moving back to let him step in the house.

“Sorry I didn’t call first. I just got your message while I was out running errands and thought I’d just stop by.”  
“No of course it’s absolutely fine! Thank you so much for coming to my rescue again!” She leads him upstairs and into the attic and within ten minutes the light is functioning again. She invites him to stay for coffee and is delighted when he agrees.

Three hours later, Melissa and Derek are still sitting at the table chatting and laughing. Melissa thinks it’s nice to see Derek so happy. Someone however is less than happy and shortly after the front door open, Scott is standing in the doorway of the kitchen, eyeing the Derek and his mom suspiciously. Stiles stands slightly behind him, the same look mirrored on his face. “Derek can I talk to you for a minute, please?” Scott asks. Derek glances between Scott and Stiles, and Melissa, before he excuses himself and follows them into the living room.

“What’s wrong Scott?” he asks.

“Dude that’s my mom!” Scott hisses at the same time as Stiles says “You know that’s his mom right?” Derek thinks they were even more obnoxious together than they had been as just best friends.

“I know she’s your mom? What about it? I came over to fix the attic light for her.”

“Is that all you came over for?” Stiles asks, making the face that usually means he’s trying, and failing to be intimidating.

“Shut up Stiles.”

“That doesn’t sounds like a no,” Stiles quips.

Derek sighs loudly. “I came over to help your mom and then we had coffee and talked, that’s all.”

Scott and Stiles share a look. “I’m not going to get in your way, but if you hurt you hurt my mom you’re going to answer to me.”

Derek scrubs a hand over his face before admitting something to himself as much as to the pair standing before him. “I won’t.”

A few minutes later he slides back into the chair across from Melissa. “Everything alright?” she asks, obviously perplexed.  
“Everything’s fine, Scott just had some pack business he needed to discuss,” Derek answers, flashing that megawatt smile. Melissa accepts the explanation and refills his cup. Half an hour later Derek is on his way out and makes Melissa promise to call him if she needs anything at all.  
\--  
As the next few weeks progress, Derek starts spending a lot more of his time at the McCall house. It seems that every other day something was broken. It doesn’t usually take him very long to fix, but he spends hours after talking with Melissa about anything and everything that strikes their fancy. Derek is starting to feel like a school boy with a crush. He’d go anywhere and do anything for Melissa. He wonders if being attracted to the mother of someone he considers a good friend and a bit of an authority figure was a good idea. But he also figures it was probably the healthiest attraction he’d had in a long time. 

It’s almost a month and a half after the first time he’d come over to fix the bathroom pipe. He and Melissa are sitting around the table drinking coffee. It was a time he’d come to enjoy and look forward to. He’s been here four out of the last five days. One of those he’d come over purely because he’d noticed the lawn needed mowing, Melissa hadn’t even needed to ask. Now as they sit at the table, he noticed Melissa’s expression shift into something a bit more serious. As she opens her mouth to speak, Derek has the horrible feeling she’s going to tell him to stop coming over. “Derek, you’ve done so much for me and I don’t know how to properly thank you.” He prepares himself. “But if you’d like, I’d really like if you’d come over tomorrow and let me cook you a proper dinner. It’s not much, but I want to do something for you.” 

What? Derek sits in stunned silence for a moment. That had not been what he was expecting. Not even in the slightest. “I can’t,” Derek chokes out, and when Melissa’s face falls slightly he scrambles. “I’ve already imposed on you enough lately. I’ve been taking up too much of your time as it is! I’m sure you’ve got a million other things to do,” he protests and Melissa waves away his words.

“Absolute nonsense. You’ve done so much for me. The house is in better shape than it was when I bought it, and having the company of another adult has been a delight. I love Scott, and all his friends, but it has been absolutely wonderful to have you to keep me company. I absolutely insist you have dinner with me tomorrow.” She pauses for a second. “As long as you want to,” she added, a bit softer. Derek realizes she’s probably as nervous about this as he is.

He lets a small smile slip onto his face. “I would love to,” he answers. When she says goodnight to him at the door that night he could swear he feels something like static electricity spark between them. If he wants to kiss her, it’s not something he lets himself think about.

\--  
When it comes time to go to the McCall house the next night, Derek finds himself horrifically nervous. His palms are clammy and he feels rather like a little kid trying on his dad’s clothes again. He doesn’t know how nicely he’s supposed to dress. He doesn’t want to show up in a t-shirt and jeans if Melissa’s in a nice outfit, but he doesn’t want to show up dressed up if she’s in jeans and a t-shirt. 

He hesitates but finally pulls out his phone and sends a text to Scott.  
Please don’t take this the wrong way but can you tell me what your mom’s wearing?  
His phone dings a minute later, but it’s Stiles number that pops up.  
Pervert.  
Derek rolls his eyes and deletes it, but the next time it dings it’s Scott’s number that pops up.  
A dress, why??????????  
How fancy of a dress?  
A moment later a picture of Melissa standing at the counter, her back turned the camera, pops up in the conversation. She’s wearing a sundress, it hugs her upper body before flowing down the rest, stopping at her knees. He feels his chest tighten and for a second he’s so disoriented that he doesn’t realize that he’s got several more messages.  
Why?????  
Are you the one she’s making this food for?  
Because it looks good and I’m a little jealous  
Derek doesn’t answer him, but his stomach twists up in knots of anxiety. He decides on a nice pair of pants and a button up shirt, and when it’s time, he throws on his leather jacket and drives over. He waits outside for several minutes gathering his courage. He thinks maybe that he should have brought flowers, but that would have made it seem like a date. And it’s not a date, just two friends having dinner, right? So why does it feel like more than that?

He finally makes his way to the door, and when he knocks, it’s Scott that answers. Scott gives him a once over and he must decide that Derek looks acceptable because he steps back and lets him in. Scott and Stiles are clearly getting ready to go be somewhere else. They’re having a conversation with just facial expressions as he shuts the door behind him. Melissa exits the kitchen and looks between the three of them. “Have a good time tonight boys,” she tells them, shooing them away. They take the hint and head out of the house. From the yard he can still hear them loud and clear as they converse on the way to the jeep.

“Dude, Derek’s gonna be your step dad.” He can imagine the horrified look on Scott’s face.

“Stiles shut up I swear to God,” Scott answers.

Derek does his best not to blush, he knows Melissa didn’t hear them. He smiles at her. “You look wonderful,” he tells her, and he means it. The dress he’d seen earlier in the picture Scott sent him looks even better in person and suits her perfectly. Her curls frame her face and she has just a little bit of make up on, and Derek just can’t get over how beautiful she looks.

Melissa’s cheeks tinge pink and she smiles. “You look great yourself,” she tells him. “Now come on in, dinner’s on the table. She take his hand lightly and his heartbeat stutters as she leads him to the table. 

Dinner is amazing. Derek decides that Melissa has been given a gift from the goddess. She’s made chicken with a lemony sauce and rice which smells spicy and delicious. Derek thinks he might be in heaven. And all of it tastes even more delicious. Throughout it all Derek finds himself nervous, even a little shy. He’s spent so much time with Melissa lately and it’s always been comfortable and familiar. He realizes that he really, really likes Melissa. He’s fairly certain she feels the same, but the thought of actually admitting it out loud makes his stomach knot. He opens his mouth, unsure of how he’s going to start this confession. 

He stops before saying anything when he the radio in the living room switches to a slower song that makes a smile stretch across Melissa’s face. He wants to see more of that smile. “Dance with me?” he asks, and smiles as Melissa’s eyes widen in surprise.  
“Oh no I haven’t danced in years.”  
“I insist,” Derek says, standing up, offering her his hand. She takes it, hesitantly, but allows Derek pull her to feet and guide her into the living room. He pulls her close and she slips her arms around his neck and he rests a hand against the small of her back. They sway slowly around the living room, sharing each other’s space. Derek feels a swelling feeling in his heart when he looks at her smiling up at him and he face flushes like she feels the same. It’s been several minutes and they’re still swaying slowly, out of time with the upbeat song that’s now playing, but they barely even notice it, too wrapped up in each other.  
“Melissa,” Derek asks softly, not wanting to break the moment. “Can I kiss you?” It sounds dumb to him and he cringes internally, fully expecting Melissa to pull back from him and tell him absolutely not. But instead she blushes, her cheeks filling with color and nods. He kisses her gently and pulls her flush against him. He feels a little like he’s dreaming when she kisses him again, her lips soft and her fingers brushing through his hair lightly. They kiss again and again and when they finally pull apart, Derek hugs Melissa close to him, kisses the top of her head.  
Melissa smiles up at him and rests her face against his chest. “I’ve been waiting for you to do that,” she admits, happy. 

“So you’ve lured me to your house under false pretenses this whole time,” he teases her, swaying her to the music again.

“Oh no, I’ve been using you for your muscles. The eventual kissing was just an added benefit.”

Derek laughs and kisses her again, and yeah, she can get used to that.

**Author's Note:**

> Super extra thanks to BK @ionsquare for betaing for me and helping me out! And as always you can all find me over @dylanwoahbrien on tumblr.


End file.
